James
the Lord's Brother

Has His
Ossuary Been Found?

By Ferrell
Jenkins

The name
James was a common name in New Testament times. Several people
bearing that name are mentioned in the New Testament. Two apostles bore
that name: James the son of Zebedee (Mt. 4:21; 10:2), and James the
son of Alphaeus (Mt. 10:3). James, the son of Zebedee, and brother of
the apostle John, was put to death by Herod Agrippa I before A.D. 44
(Acts 12:1-2). There was also James, the brother of Jesus. Paul refers
to him, along with Cephas [Peter] and John as men who were reputed to
be pillars among the brethren (Gal. 2:9). Paul identifies James as "the
Lord's brother" in Galatians 1:19.

The New
Testament mentions the brothers and sisters of Jesus in Mark 6:3 and
Matthew 13:55-56. Roman Catholics make every effort to evade the plain
meaning of "brother." Roman Catholics hold the non-biblical
doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary. They claim that the brothers
of Jesus were really half-brothers or cousins. The inscription on the
James ossuary has opened this issue anew, but more about that at another
time (see Matthew 1:25). The New Testament indicates that James and
the others listed were the uterine brothers of Jesus. James, the Lord's
brother, is generally thought to be the author of the Epistle of James.
Jude, another brother of Jesus, wrote a short book in which he says
that he is "a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James."
This last expression indicates that Jude was not as well known as James.

The
brothers of Jesus did not believe in him during His public ministry
(Jn. 7:5), but after the resurrection they are mentioned among the disciples
(Acts 1:14). Paul informs us that Jesus made an appearance to James
(1 Cor. 15:7). At least some of the brothers of James seem to be preachers
of the gospel (1 Cor. 9:5). It appears that the brothers of Jesus were
convinced by the resurrection. James proved to be influential among
the brethren both in Jerusalem and in other places (Gal. 2:11-13; Acts
15; 21:17-26). We'll leave this matter for another time.

Josephus,
the Jewish historian, makes a reference to "the brother of Jesus,
who was called Christ, whose name was James" (Ant. Xx.9.1).
Eusebius, the early church historian, records the martyrdom of "James,
the brother of the Lord" in his Ecclesiastical History (2.23).
He cites the earlier accounts by Hegesippus, Clement of Alexandria,
and Josephus. This would have been shortly after the death of Festus,
procurator of Judea, in A.D. 61.

The
James Ossuary

The
existence of an ossuary bearing an Aramaic inscription, "Yaakov
bar Yosefakhui diYeshua" [James the son of Joseph the brother
of Jesus] was announced at a press conference conducted by Hershel Shanks,
editor of Biblical Archaeology Review, October 21, 2002. In the
feature article of the November-December issue of Biblical Archaeology
Review, Professor Andre Lemairé gives details about the ossuary
and its inscription. [Visit the BAR
web site for a brief account of the article.] An ossuary was used to
house the bones of the deceased after the decay of the body. An ossuary
need be only as large as the longest bones. This ossuary is about 20
inches long, 12 inches high, and 10 inches wide. They were commonly
used by the Jews for secondary burial in the first century A.D.

The James
Ossuary has been on display at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto,
Canada, since November 15th (continues through December 29). It is displayed
in a third floor room by itself in a well-lighted case. The walls of
the room are filled with information about James, ossuaries, Jewish
burial customs, and the James ossuary. The ossuary was cracked in transit
from Israel to Canada but has been restored by the museum staff. The
ROM has a good selection of material from the ancient Mediterranean
world. The exhibition of the James Ossuary was arranged to coincide
with the annual meetings of the American Schools of Oriental Research,
the American Academy of Religion, and the Society of Biblical Literature.
About eight thousand professors of religion and Biblical studies from
around the world attend these meetings.

SBL
Panel  "No Ordinary Box of Bones"

The Society
of Biblical Literature planned a special session under the title "No
Ordinary Box of Bones" for a learned discussion about the ossuary.
The panel included the following scholars:

André
Lemairé, the epigrapher from the Sorbonne who recently
published the ossuary inscription in the Biblical Archaeology Review.John Painter, author of a book on James, from Charles Stuart
University in Australia.Steve Mason, a Josephus scholar, from York University, Toronto.
He put the quotation about James in Josephus in its proper context.Eric Meyers, an archaeologist and scholar of Judaism at Duke
University.Hershel Shanks, editor of Biblical Archaeology Review.Adele Reinhartz, of Wilfred Laurier University, served as chair
of the panel.

Lemairé
summarized the material from his BAR article. He responded to
some recent charges that the second half of the inscription [brother
of Jesus] is different from the first part [James the son of Joseph].
Evidence from paleography places the Aramaic inscription near the middle
of the first century AD, prior to AD 70. Eric Myers, a former president
of ASOR, stated that he had concern about the existence of such a panel
in light of the fact that the ossuary was "looted" and sold
on the illegal antiquities market. He said the owner had been questioned
by the police in Israel about the ossuary. Herschel Shanks took exception
to several statements made by Myers. Shanks publishes artifact which
belong to private collectors. Both Shanks and Lemairé emphasized
that the Dead Sea Scrolls fall into the same category. Shanks said there
are good collectors and bad collectors. Good collectors allow their
material to be published and share it with the world. Bad collectors
keep their artifacts in their basements for personal enjoyment.

Mason put
the quotation about James from Josephus in proper historical context.
Josephus was dealing with the character of High Priests and mentioned,
incidentally, that one of the people put to death was the brother of
Jesus, the so-called Christ. Painter mentioned the tradition that the
throne of James (as Bishop of Jerusalem) and his burial in the Church
of Saint James, an Armenian church in Jerusalem. He also cited other
traditions about the death and burial of James from Clement of Alexandria,
Hegesippus, and Eusebius.

When
the panelists finished their presentations, time was allowed for only
two or three questions from the audience of about 800 persons. I was
seated directly in front of the podium about 4 or 5 rows from the front
and rose to ask the first question. The owner of the ossuary, Mr. Oded
Golan, was present for the session. I stated that we would like to hear
him say how long the ossuary had been in his possession and whether
the inscription was on it when he obtained it. Mr. Golan was seated
beside Ray Madrigal, a member of the Biblical Studies faculty at Florida
College, and my co-worker at the Carrollwood Church of Christ. Mr. Golan
went to the platform and stated that he obtained the ossuary in the
1970s and that the inscription was on it when he obtained it. He is
51 years of age, and has been collecting ossuaries and other antiquities
since he was 8 years old. He stated that one item from his collection
had been published by the late Yigael Yadin.

It may
sound strange to Americans that a young boy would be collecting ossuaries
and other antiquities. We must remember that ancient artifacts are everywhere
in Israel (and the West Bank) and that archaeology is a sort of past-time
for many people who live there. As a boy growing up in north Alabama
I picked up Indian arrowheads from the cotton fields. In one home in
that area, a few years ago, my host brought out box after box of artifacts
he had collected from Indian mounds.

Important
Questions

Several
important questions should be asked about this ossuary. These questions
will help us draw some conclusions.

Did
the ossuary originate in first century Jerusalem? Theevidence
indicates that it did. The Geologic Survey of Israel has certified that
the limestone is typical of that quarried in Jerusalem during the first
and second centuries A.D. The patina in the inscription contains no
modern elements, and there is no indication of the use of a modern
tool on the ossuary. André Lemairé thinks this type of
ossuary can be dated between 20 B.C. and A.D. 70.

Is the
inscription authentic? The shape of certain of the letters indicates
that the Aramaic inscription belongs to the last decades before the
destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. This is the exact period, according
to Josephus, when James was killed. Some scholars have suggested that
the inscription may have been written by two different hands. Lemairé
sees no reason to draw this conclusion. After the panel discussion the
ossuary was examined by Frank Moore Cross and Joseph Fitzmeyer, both
experts in the Aramaic of this period. According to Oded Golan, in an
interview with the Discovery Channel (EXN.Ca),
they believe the inscription was written by one hand.

Is this
the James of Galatians 1:19 and Acts 15? Is the James mentioned
on the ossuary the James of the New Testament (Acts 15; Gal. 1:19)?
In first century Jerusalem many people bore the names James, Joseph,
and Jesus. When we consider the combination of relationships (son of,
brother of), the number of possibilities goes down dramatically. The
exact size of the population is uncertain. Lemairé estimated
a maximum population of 80,000. Based on ossuary inscriptions of the
period, Lemairé first suggested that about 20 people could be
called "James son of Joseph brother of Jesus." Golan says
that Professor Camil Fuchs, head of Tel Aviv University's Department
of Statistics and Operations Research in the School of Mathematical
Sciences, estimates on the basis of a highly complex statistical analysis
that "only one person could be 'James son of Joseph brother of
Jesus,' and that is the man who was known as James the Just, a leader
in the early church and the brother of Jesus Christ" (Paddey, Patricia
L. "Ossuary's
Owner Reveals New Research." http://www.biblenetworknews.com
(23 Nov. 2002). I think the combination of relationships makes it highly
probable that this is the ossuary of the James of Acts 15, but we may
never know for certain.

Does
it matter? If the inscription is authentic, it is another of the
many archaeological confirmations of Biblical characters. We already
know of Caiaphas, Pilate, Erastus, et al. It is another example of the
historicity of the New Testament. It provides the earliest inscriptional
evidence of Jesus. If the inscription is not authentic then it is just
an ordinary limestone bone box, but one that has caused multitudes to
discuss Jesus and the New Testament. Let us use it as an opportunity
to discuss Jesus with those who do not know Him.

Please
keep in mind that the New Testament documents, all of which date to
the first century, provide the evidence that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of God (Jn. 20:31). [See book by F. F. Bruce.]

Scholars
view burial box
said to verify Jesus

The
Christian Chronicle - January, 2003

Toronto

Almost
100 professors of biblical studies from churches of Christ had the opportunity
to view the recently publicized ossurary, or burial box, said to be
that of James, the brother of Jesus, at a scholarly meeting in late
November.

A panel
of scholars discussed the ossurary’s authenticity at a joint session
of the Society of Biblical Literature and American Academy of Religion’s
annual meeting in Toronto, Canada, attended by Christian College faculty
members.

Why is
this ossuary, among so many Jewish burial boxes from the early centuries
attracting such interest? Because of the three names in the inscription:
“James, son of Joseph and brother of Jesus,” said Lynn McMillon, dean
of the College of Biblical Studies, Oklahoma Christian University. “At
stake is not faith but rather tangible evidence linked to the person
of Jesus.”

The November
issue of “Biblical Archaeology Review” first reported discovery of the
box — raising interest and debate, McMillon said.

Stone ossurary
boxes contain the bones of a deceased person, deposited a year after
the initial burial, McMillon said, following the Jewish custom before
and after the time of Jesus.

Arrangements
were made to ship the ossuary from its owner’s home in Jerusalem to
the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto to coincide with the meeting of
scholars.

Technical
points in judging the box’s and the inscription’s authenticity include
the frequency of use of the names James, Joseph and Jesus in the first
century. Factors for study to determine the box’s dating are the box’s
style, type of stone, Aramaic script and patina.

Besides
the technical questions the box raises are the human questions of how
the present owner got the box and from whom — which will spark future
discussion, McMillon said.

Though
the owner of the ossuary had planned to remain anonymous, he was introduced
to the society upon the request of Ferrell Jenkins, emeritus professor,
Florida College, during a question and answer session.